NO MORE WRITING EXERCISES. I mean it. If you are going to learn how to write memoir, you need to learn to write with intent. That’s my phrase — writing with intent — and I’m sticking to it, since I know how well it has worked for others. Ready to come along? [Read more…]

CREATIVE INSPIRATION COMES at you from every direction. In this time of hyper-media involvement, we can sometimes simply want to duck. But don’t. I mean, why should you when I am willing to taking on the task of organization for you? Nothing like tidying up the universe to make a woman feel good, right? And I am feeling good, creating Pinterest pages for memoir that will make your writing lives much, much easier. [Read more…]

HOW DO YOU DISTANCE YOURSELF when writing memoir? It’s a great question, and an even greater exercise when you sit down to write. When Scott Nadelson proposed it, I snapped it right up, particularly after reading his fine new memoir, recently published by Hawthorne Press. A book of self-discovery, The Next Scott Nadelson, A Life in Progress, will amaze you, but pay close attention as it also teaches you how to get some distance from yourself when writing memoir. It’s something you must master in order to get to your best work. Read on for more, and for a chance to win the book. [Read more…]

JUST WHAT IS MEMOIR? Is it one big book that begins with your great-great-grandfather, and ends with what you had for lunch today, or is it more a process of selection? You can tell from the way I phrase that which way I fall on this argument. What memoir is becomes a fascinating discussion in the hands of our next guest blogger, Kevin Fenton, a deft and talented writer whose new book, Leaving Rollingstone takes on the eternally compelling question of how we reclaim the enduring values of our childhood. And he does it without giving us his entire life story. Watch how he does it. Read on. [Read more…]

JOANNA PENN IS A TIRELESS ADVOCATE for writers. I like to think that I am, as well. Together we recently settled in for a lovely, long transatlantic talk, taking on the topic of memoir, and turning that talk into a podcast. Want to listen in? Of course you do. And you may, because Joanna’s generosity extends that far – and more.

JOANNA PENN HELPS writers get to their work. Me, too. And so we got together via Skype the other day – she in London, me in upstate, New York – and talked about how to write memoir. Want to watch and learn? You may. [Read more…]

About Me

BY WRITING AND TEACHING MEMOIR, I've learned that everyone has a story to tell. My most recent book is "The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text on Writing & Life." (Grand Central). [Read More]